


Confidence

by ImaginationCake



Category: Tales of the Abyss
Genre: Alcohol, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-19
Updated: 2016-02-19
Packaged: 2018-05-21 14:53:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6055699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImaginationCake/pseuds/ImaginationCake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Drunk Jade says things he shouldn't.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Confidence

Luke slipped out of the inn room, closing the door carefully behind him. His heart still pounded in his ears. He closed his eyes and forced himself to pull slow breaths from deep in his belly, like… like Master Van had taught him, back at home. Back before everything had changed forever, before Luke woke up covered in sweat every night, the screams of people he'd killed ringing in his ears.

When he felt like he could handle it, he opened his eyes and crept down the stairs, trying not to make any noise. It was easy in Grand Chokmah's inn, because of the little streams that ran around on stone tracks indoors. They made soft, pretty sounds that made it easy to fall asleep.

He found his way to the inn's common room, where a lone bartender was polishing glasses, and found a familiar figure seated at a corner table.

“Jade? What time is it?” Luke asked, his voice cracking from recent sleep.

“Nearly three, I think,” Jade told him. He had a half-empty glass of something clear and caramel-colored. Luke hovered next to the table, unsure if Jade wanted company, but Jade gestured for him to take a seat. The bartender came by and Luke asked for a glass of water.

Jade seemed content to sit in silence, and Luke didn't press for conversation. Just having Jade there and awake was somehow soothing. After a minute the bartender came back with Luke's water, garnished neatly with a sprig of mint and a slice of cucumber. Luke felt embarrassed to be given such a fancy-looking drink when it was just water, but he accepted it and took a sip.

“So what did you think of His Imperial Majesty today?” Jade asked, after the bartender had returned to his post, well out of earshot in the spacious room.

“Well...” Luke started, but he hesitated.

Jade laughed. “Don't be afraid to speak freely,” he told Luke. “I'm genuinely interested.”

“O-okay. He seemed nice, I guess. But I thought he was… intimidating,” Luke said, scratching the back of his neck.

Jade sipped his drink. “Really? Most people find him quite personable.”

“Y-yeah, I mean… He didn’t seem like the kind of person you could say 'no' to. And he said some things that were kind of weird, I thought.”

“Oh? Like what?” Jade did look genuinely interested.

"…I didn't like how he said you were 'his,' like you were a… a possession." Luke dragged a finger through the condensing water on his glass. "It didn't seem right."

Jade raised his eyebrows, and it took a while for him to respond. "It didn't occur to me that you might come to that conclusion. Though of course, I see why it might alarm you. But in a way… it's true. I _am_ his. My loyalty is his, as is my respect. And my… companionship, I suppose. If he really thought of me as just a possession, well then… do you really think I would give him any of that?"

Luke shook his head. Even he could tell that Jade was the kind of person that wouldn't do anything unless he absolutely wanted to. He might do things that didn't appeal to him, but not without very good reason.

"And… there's two sides to it. As my commander, he holds my life in his hands, and as a soldier of Malkuth, I hold his in mine. I have his complete trust, which is no small thing. His confidence, which I am told is a great treasure. And treasure it I do." He lapsed into silence, frowning at the remains of his drink.

For some reason Luke felt his face heating up, like Jade had revealed some great personal secret. Certainly he hadn't expected him to say this much. He gulped at his water, trying to cool himself off, and by the time he was finished he realized that Jade might very well have said more than he'd meant to.

His suspicions were confirmed when Jade sighed and pushed his glass away without finishing it. “I'm sorry, I'm not normally this chatty. I'd appreciate if you didn't mention any of this to the others.”

Luke offered a smile, attempting to comfort.“Another secret, huh?”

“I suppose we're getting rather chummy with all these secrets, aren't we,” Jade mused.

“It's fine. I won't tell anyone,” Luke promised.

Jade regarded him for a moment, then turned away, smiling his inscrutable smile. “Thank you.”

They both went to bed soon after, and Luke pulled the covers tight around him, puzzling deeply over what Jade had told him.


End file.
